Motel 7 ➳ h.s.

T H R E E

Hi guys! I really hope you're enjoying the book so far, thank you all for all the support you've been giving me!

This chapter has now been edited xxx

-

I awoke, shooting up in my bed, to the sound of a rather loud thud, as if a giant had taken a step on a wooded floor right next to my bedroom. I turned my head, groggily, to face the chipping-wood night stand that stood beside my bed, clicking the home button on my cellphone, to see what time it was.

Three a.m.

Now that I was awake, I knew that I would never fall back to sleep, and in an attempt to find out what had woken me up, I climbed out of my bed to search my house for the strange sound.

I quietly made my way out of my bedroom and down the hallway. I was about to reach the bathroom at the end of the hallway, when I heard sniffles coming from my little brother's bedroom. Perhaps the sound had woken him too?

"Ash? Is that you?" I whispered, through the bedroom door.

"Y-yes, Lola. Can you come in, please?" He whimpered. Something was wrong. Asher had been crying.

I turned the door knob, pushing the wooden door forwards, to reveal a crying Asher, sitting against the headboard of his bed, his knees up, his head tucked in his lap.

"L-Lola," he mumbled, his head still placed in his lap, making his words sound muffled. "I-I, mom, she, she..." he began trying to explain to me what had happened, but with every word, his voice grew shakier, and his pace grew quicker. He was petrified.

"It's alright Ash, it was only a nightmare. It's over now, it's not real," I cut him off. I shuffled towards his bed, taking a seat and pulling his shaking body into my arms.

"B-but, but, mom was, she was..." he tried explaining, once again.

"I know Ash, you don't have to say it. I understand, but mom is alright, she is getting better, okay?" I lied to him. I couldn't tell him she was going to die soon, I did not want to be the one to break his fragile heart.

"Everything is going to be alright, Ash. You don't need to worry," I continued.

"Promise?" Asher looked up at me, his eyes full of both hope, and small pools of salty water threatening to flow over the brim.

"I promise," I whispered, tears now filling my own eyes. I knew that my promise was empty, that I would never be able to keep such a promise, it was out of my hands, but I did know that if our mother did die, I would do everything in my power to protect, and look after my little brother.

"Lola?" Ash spoke, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Yes Ash?" I answered him, though it came out as more of a question than a statement.

"Can you sing to me, please? To help me fall back asleep?" He asked.

"Of course, Ash, what should I sing?"

Asher climbed back under his covers, and I pulled them over his little body, until they reached his neck.

"Can you sing mummy's lullaby?"